Lecture 8:

Rheology
Physical Pharmacy II
Zainab A. Radhi
Assistant Lecturer in pharmaceutics

Class: 2nd year

Baghdad College of Medical Sciences

Outlines
• Introduction

• Viscosity

• Newtonian Systems

• Non-Newtonian Systems

• Thixotropy
 Introduction
The term rheology is derived from the Greek words rheo “to
flow,” and logos “science”. It is defined as the study of the flow of
liquids and deformation of solids.

Viscosity is an expression of the resistance of a fluid to flow; the

higher the viscosity, the greater is the resistance. It is one of the
main components of rheology.

• The simple liquids can be described in terms of absolute viscosity by

a single value.

• The heterogeneous dispersions have more complex rheological

properties, and they cannot be expressed by a single value.

 Manufacturers of medicinal and cosmetic creams, pastes, and

lotions must be capable of producing products with acceptable

consistency and smoothness. The rheology of product can affect patient

acceptability, physical stability, and even biologic availability.

Rheological properties of a pharmaceutical system can

influence the selection of processing equipment, and also valuable

information can be obtained by use of analytic methods of rheology, for

formulating better pharmaceutical products.

Materials can be classified, according to types of flow and

deformation, in one of two categories:

1. Newtonian systems: are the systems in which the viscosity stays

constant, as the applied force changes.

2. Non-Newtonian systems: are the systems in which the viscosity

changes as some function of applied force.

The classification depends on whether or

not the material flow properties obeys
Newton's law of flow.
Newtonian Systems
It is one of the simplest types of flow; water and low molecular-
weight oils show Newtonian flow.

Rate of shear or the velocity gradient:

is the difference of velocity, dv, between
two planes of liquid separated by an
infinitesimal distance dr.
𝒅𝒗
( )=G
𝒅𝒓
Shearing stress : is the force per unit
area required to bring about flow.
𝑭′
( )=F
𝑨

Newton proposed that “the velocity (dv) of the

material over the small distance (dr) that it travels is
directly proportional to the applied shear stress”.

Newton recognized that the higher the viscosity of a liquid, the

greater force per unit area (shearing stress) required to produce a
certain rate of shear.
Hence, rate of shear should be directly proportional to shearing stress:

where the constant is known as the

coefficient of viscosity (or simply
viscosity) of the Newtonian fluid.
• Based on this equation, viscosity is defined as a parameter that

measures resistance to flow.

where F = F′/A = shearing stress

G = dv/dr = rate of shear

 A flow curve (rheogram), obtained

by plotting F versus G.
 For a Newtonian system, a straight
line passing through the origin is
obtained.

Unit of viscosity
• The unit of viscosity is the poise, defined as the shearing force

required to produce a velocity of 1 cm/sec between two parallel

planes of liquid each 1 cm2 in area and separated by a distance
of 1 cm.

• The poise can be represented by (dyne.sec.cm-2) or (g.cm-1.sec-1)

• A more convenient unit for most work is the centipoise (cp, plural

cps): 1 cp = 0.01 poise.

 Fluidity, φ, a term sometimes used, is defined as 𝟏
φ=
the reciprocal of viscosity: 𝜼
 Kinematic viscosity is the absolute viscosity divided by the density of

the liquid at a specific temperature; represented by the equation:

𝜼 𝝆 is the density of substance in g/cm3
Kinematic viscosity =
𝝆

• The units of kinematic viscosity are poise/(g/cm3), and known as the

stoke (s).

• The centistoke(cs) is also used as kinematic viscosity unit.

• Absolute viscosities of some Newtonian liquids at 20 C° commonly used

in pharmacy are given in this table :

Liquid Viscosity (cp)

Castor oil 1000
Olive oil 100
Water 1.0019

• Note: Water is ordinarily used as a standard for viscosity of liquids. Its

viscosity at 25°C is 0.8904 cp.
Temperature Dependence and the Theory of Viscosity
 The viscosity of liquid decreases as temperature is raised, and the

fluidity of a liquid (the reciprocal of viscosity) increases with

temperature.

 The dependence of the viscosity of a liquid on temperature is expressed

approximately for many substances by an equation analogous to the

Arrhenius equation of chemical kinetics:

𝜂 = AeEvRT
where A is a constant depending on the molecular weight and molar
volume of the liquid and EV, is an "activation energy" required to initiate
flow between molecules.

Non-Newtonian Systems
The majority of fluid pharmaceutical products are not simple liquids and do
not follow Newton's law of flow. These systems are referred to as non-
Newtonian.

Non-Newtonian behavior is generally exhibited by liquid and solid

heterogeneous dispersions such as colloidal solutions, emulsions, liquid
suspensions, and ointments.

When non-Newtonian materials are analyzed in a rotational viscometer and

results are plotted, various consistency curves, representing three classes of
flow, are recognized:
1)Plastic 2)Pseudoplastic 3)Dilatant
 1. Plastic Flow
The curve represents a body that
exhibits plastic flow; such materials are
known as Bingham bodies.
Plastic flow curves do not pass
through the origin but rather intersect
the shearing stress axis at a particular
point (or will if the straight part of the
curve is extrapolated to the axis)
referred to as the yield value.

 The yield value is defined as “the minimum shear stress required by

the system before it deforms and begins to flow”.

 Once the yield value has been reached, the relationship between

shear stress and rate of shear becomes linear.

 A Bingham body does not begin to flow until a shearing stress

corresponding to the yield value is exceeded. At stresses below the

yield value, the substance acts as an elastic material.

 Yield value is an important property of certain dispersions.

 The slope of the rheogram is termed

the mobility, analogous to fluidity in

Newtonian systems, and its
reciprocal is known as the plastic
viscosity, U.
where f is the yield
F− f value, or intercept, on
U= the shear stress axis in
𝐺
dynes/cm2,.

 Plastic flow is associated with the presence of flocculated particles

in concentrated suspensions. A yield value exists because of the

contacts between adjacent particles (brought about by Van der Waals

forces), which must be broken down before flow can occur.

 Consequently, the yield value is an indication of force of flocculation:

The more flocculated the suspension, the higher will be the yield

value.
2.Pseudo-plastic Flow
Many pharmaceutical products, including liquid dispersions of natural
and synthetic gums (e.g., sodium alginate, and methylcellulose) exhibit
pseudoplastic flow.

Pseudoplastic flow is typically exhibited by polymers in solution, in

contrast to plastic systems, which are composed of flocculated
particles in suspension.

The curve for a pseudo-plastic material begins at the origin; thus,

there is no yield value in this system.

Furthermore, because no part of the curve is

linear, the viscosity of a pseudoplastic
material cannot be expressed by any single
value.
The viscosity of a pseudoplastic substance
decreases with increasing rate of shear.
For example: Ketchup.
• An apparent viscosity can be obtained at any rate of shear from the

slope of the tangent to the curve at the specified point.

• The most satisfactory representation for a pseudoplastic material,

however, is probably a graphic plot of the entire consistency curve.

• Objective comparisons between different pseudoplastic systems are

more difficult than with either Newtonian or plastic systems. For

example, Newtonian systems are completely described by viscosity,
η, and plastic systems are adequately described by yield value, f,
and plastic viscosity, U.

The pseudo-plastic viscosity is expressed by the exponential formula:

or FN = 𝜂' G

The term η′ is a viscosity coefficient for pseudo-plastic material.

The exponent N rises as flow becomes more pseudo-plastic.

When N = 1, the flow is Newtonian.

• When the shearing stress is increased, the irregular molecules begin to

align in the direction of flow; it reduces the internal resistance of the

material and allows a greater rate of shear at each successive shearing

stress and lower viscosity.

3. Dilatant flow
Certain suspensions with a high percentage of dispersed solids exhibit an
increase in resistance to flow with increasing rates of shear. Such
systems actually increase in volume when sheared and are hence termed
dilatant.

Whereas pseudoplastic materials are

frequently referred to as "shear-thinning
systems," dilatant materials are often
termed "shear-thickening systems."
When stress is removed, a dilatant system
returns to its original state of fluidity.
• Equation:
FN = 𝜂 'G

This can be used to describe dilatancy in quantitative terms. In this case,

N is always less than 1 and decreases as degree of dilatancy increases.

As N approaches 1, the system becomes increasingly Newtonian in
behavior.

Substances possessing dilatant flow properties are invariably

suspensions containing a high concentration (about 50 % or greater)
of small, deflocculated particles.

THIXOTROPY
Several types of behavior are observed when rate of shear is progressively
increased and plotted against resulting shear stress.

This phenomenon, known as thixotropy, can be defined as "an isothermal

and comparatively slow recovery, on standing of a material, of a
consistency lost through shearing."

 If the rate of shear were reduced when

the maximum had been reached, and the

resulted down-curve is identical with the
up-curve (superimposable), this system
is Newtonian systems.
With shear-thinning systems, the down-curve is displaced to the left of
the up-curve. Showing that the material has a lower consistency at the
downcurve than at upcurve.

This indicates a breakdown of structure (and hence shear thinning) that

does not reform immediately when stress is removed or reduced.

• Rheograms obtained with thixotropic materials are highly dependent

on the rate at which shear is increased or decreased and the length of

time a sample is subjected to any one rate of shear. So the rheogram
for same product is different depending on time of shear, rate of shear,
and degree of structure in the sample. This is an important point to
bear in mind when attempting to obtain a quantitative measure of
thixotropy.

 Hysteresis loop: Is the area between the up-curve and

down-curve of rheogram.
 Measurement of Thixotropy
The area of hysteresis has been proposed as a measure of thixotropic
breakdown; it can be obtained readily by means of a planimeter or other
suitable technique.

With plastic (Bingham) bodies, two approaches are frequently used to

estimate degree of thixotropy.

The first approach: is to determine structural breakdown with time

of a plastic system possessing thixotropy when subjected to a constant

rate of shear for time t. (the maximum shear rate is constant, the time
of holding before reducing shearing stress is different).

Based on such a rheogram, a thixotropic coefficient, B, the rate of

breakdown with time at constant shear rate, is calculated as follows:

𝑼𝟏−𝑼𝟐
B= 𝒕
𝒍𝒏 𝒕𝟐
𝟏

where U1, and U2 are the

plastic viscosities of the two
down-curves, calculated from
𝑭− 𝒇
equation (U= ), after
𝑮
shearing at a constant rate for
t1 and t2 seconds, respectively.
 The second approach: is to determine the structural breakdown of a

plastic system possessing thixotropy when subjected to increasing

shear rates. (The maximum shear rate is different; the time of holding

before reducing shearing stress is constant).

• The principle involved in this approach is two hysteresis loops are

obtained having different maximum rates of shear, v1, and v2.

• In this case, a thixotropic coefficient, M, the loss in shearing stress per

unit increase in shear rate, is obtained from:

𝑈1−𝑈2
M= 𝑣
ln ( 2)
𝑣1

where M is in dynes.sec/cm2 and

U1, and U2 are the plastic
viscosities for two separate down-
curves having maximum shearing
rates of v1 and v2, respectively.
Negative Thixotropy (antithixotropy)
It is phenomenon represents an increase rather than a decrease in
consistency on the down-curve. This increase in thickness with
increased time of shear was observed in the rheologic analysis of
magnesia magma. It was detected at shear rates of greater than 30 sec-1;
below 30 sec-1 the magma showed normal thixotropy, the down-curve
appearing to the left of the up-curve.

Negative thixotropy should not be confused with dilatancy or

rheopexy.

Dilatant systems are deflocculated and ordinarily contain greater than

50% by volume of solid dispersed phase, whereas antithixotropic

systems have low solids content (1%-10%) and are flocculated.

Rheopexy is a phenomenon in which solid forms a gel more readily

when gently shaken than when allowed to form the gel while the
material is kept at rest. In a rheopectic system, the gel is the
equilibrium form, whereas in antithixotropy, the equilibrium state is
the sol.
DETERMINATION OF RHEOLOGIC PROPERTIES
Choice of Viscometer
 For Newtonian system, because shear rate is directly proportional to
shearing stress, instruments that operate at a single shear rate can be
used. These "single-point" instruments provide a single point on the
rheogram; extrapolation of a line through this point to the origin will
result in a complete rheogram.
 For Non-Newtonian, a single-point determination is virtually useless
in characterizing its flow properties. It is therefore essential that, with
non-Newtonian systems, the instrument can operate at a variety of
shear rates. Such multipoint instruments are capable of producing a
complete rheogram for non-Newtonian systems.

The main instruments used for determination of rheological properties

are: capillary, falling-sphere, cup-and-bob, and cone-and-plate
viscometers.

The first two (capillary, falling-sphere viscometer) are single-shear-rate

instruments suitable for use only with Newtonian materials.

The latter two (cup-and-bob, cone-and-plate viscometers) are
multipoint, rotational instruments can be used with both Newtonian
and non-Newtonian systems.

VISCOELASTICITY

Viscoelastic measurements are based on the mechanical

properties of materials that exhibit both viscous properties of

liquids and elastic properties of solids. Many of the systems studied

in pharmacy belong to this class, as creams, lotions, ointments,

suppositories, suspensions, and the colloidal dispersing, emulsifying,

and suspending agents.

Pharmaceutical areas, in which rheology is significant, are:

1. Fluids

a) Mixing

b) Particle-size reduction of disperse systems with shear.

c) Passage through orifices, including pouring, packaging in bottles,

and passage through hypodermic needles.

d) Fluid transfer, including pumping and flow through pipes.

e) Physical stability of disperse systems.

2. Quasisolids
a) Spreading and adherence on the skin.
b) Removal from jars or extrusion from tubes.
c) Capacity of solids to mix with miscible liquids.
d) Release of the drug from the base.

3. Solids
a) Flow of powders from hoppers and into die cavities in tableting or
into capsules during encapsulation.
b) Package-ability of powdered or granular solids.
c) Processing.
d) Production capacity of the equipment.
e) Processing efficiency.